SCRUB a Dub, Dub!

Thursday

Sep 26, 2013 at 10:17 PMSep 26, 2013 at 10:29 PM

Laura Kurella

ISSUE: I have heard this mentioned on a number of occasions, “For some time, there was a special vegetable wash you could buy then it disappeared. Now there is nothing. I know that we should clean produce before cooking/consuming but have no idea what is the best way to clean raw vegetables.”

ANSWER: One of the best known produce rinses on the market was discontinued September 28, 2001. Procter & Gamble Company announced its discontinuation of Fit Fruit & Vegetable Wash as well as its Professional Line Fit Antibacterial Produce Cleaner and said the rationale for discontinuing these products was the market for the products was too small.

That said, by no means does this mean to not cleanse raw vegetation prior to consuming. In fact, Wash Wash Wash! This means not just rinsing before cutting or eating a fruit or veggie. What this means is really scrubbing the veggies and fruits down. A good scrubbing does the following:

It removes any bacteria from the produce’s surface.

It removes or reduces the contact pesticides from the surface.

And, keep in mind that almost 20 hands have touched your produce before you bought it. You want to wash all that yuck off, don’t you?

My favorite way to do this on tough skinned veggies is a good old floor scrubber.

I buy one and tag it for veggies so that it is used for nothing else.

Floor scrubbers are great for scrubbing down ears of corn because the bristles catch all those errant pieces of silk and whisk them away.

On potatoes, they are tough enough to rub off all kinds of dirt and grime and work so well on carrots that you don’t even need to peel them.

And, if you are smart enough to get one at a discount store, it will cost you no more than $2.